What's New
| Congressman Mitchell: Pausing to Consider People Who REALLY Matter |
Chairman Harry Mitchell is a Hero to Veterans Nationwide August 20, 2010 (Arizona Republic) - It's been a month since I spoke to Rep. Harry Mitchell about suicides among military veterans and I'm just getting around to writing something. |
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| What Obama Won't Say Tonight About US Withdrawal from Iraq |
| August 31, 2010 (ConsortiumNews) - President Barack Obama’s aides say his speech this evening marking the end of "combat operations" in Iraq will avoid the vainglorious aspects of President George W. Bush’s infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech in 2003. We’ll see. |
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| Lawsuit Update: Prudential's Half-Billion in Dirty Secret Profits |
Families of Dead Soldiers Sue Insurer Over Its Handling of Survivors’ Benefits August 29, 2010 (New York Times) - Vickie Castro’s only child was killed six years ago just before Christmas, when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside an Army mess tent in Mosul, Iraq, killing more than 20 people. |
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| Op-Ed: Cost of War Must Also Include Caring for Our Veterans |
Overlooked Cost of Iraq / Afghanistan Wars: Our Veterans' Healthcare and Benefits August 15, 2010 (San Francisco Chronicle) - Two years after an Army specialist saw half his platoon torn apart in Iraq, he hanged himself in a California backyard. |
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| VA Secretary Shinseki's Open Message to Gulf War Veterans |
| August 11, 2010, Washington, DC (VA Press Release) - August 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Gulf War, launched with Operation Desert Shield and followed by Operation Desert Storm. VA honors this milestone with a renewed commitment to improving our responsiveness to the challenges facing Gulf War Veterans. |
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North Miami Man to Sue Veterans Administration Over HIV Infection
Written by Fred Tasker
Thursday, 20 August 2009 10:20
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August 20, 2009 - A 55-year-old North Miami man who claims he was infected with HIV during a colonoscopy at the Miami Veterans Administration hospital has filed notice he will sue the federal government.
Juan Rivera charges that he was infected by improperly cleaned equipment in a colonoscopy around May 19, 2008, at the Miami VA facility. Rivera, who has a wife and five children, is a 13-year Army vet who now drives trucks for the U.S. Postal Service. He is represented by Miami attorney Ira Leesfield, who says the six-month notice is a requirement of suing the federal government under the Federal Torts Claim Act. The notice was filed July 20. Leesfield said the claim states Rivera will sue for $20 million in damages. The government has six months to settle before the case would go to U.S. federal court for trial before a judge, Leesfield says. On March 28, the VA sent letters to more than 3,000 veterans who had colonoscopies at the Miami VA hospital informing them that improperly cleaned equipment might have exposed them to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. It later raised the number involved to 3,348. VA officials have said a staffer rinsed some equipment instead of sterilizing it as required by the manufacturer's directions. Similar problems arose at VA hospitals in Murfreesboro, Tenn. and Augusta, Ga. The total number of veterans involved is over 11,000. Records show that among the patients at the three hospitals who have heeded VA warnings to get follow-up blood checks, eight have tested positive for HIV. Twelve former patients have tested positive for hepatitis B and 37 have tested positive for hepatitis C. Officials point out there is no way to know if they were infected at a VA facility. But the VA has promised to care for all those infected. After Congressional inquiries, Miami VA hospital director Mary Berrocal said she disciplined up to 10 employees. This report was supplementedwith material from The Associated Press.
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